Only 2 expirations and no more volatility trades until December.
SVXY40 puts
SVXY 45 puts
Monthly Archives: September 2017
Afternoon all. Only one this week.
#OptionsExpiration $SVXY 85 Call Assigned. Letting my stock go. Back to sans stock.
Have a great weekend all.
#OptionsExpiration #Weeklys #Sep29 – It’s…
#OptionsExpiration #Weeklys #Sep29 – It’s the end of the third quarter and nothing is going on. I did let a couple of lots of $SVXY go very near the all time high.
Record $VIX lows for September means I’m not putting on new trades.
I guess I’ll wait for earnings season.
— Expirations —
AZO (Weekly) Sep 29 2017 660 Calls
NUGT (Weekly) Sep 29 2017 30 Puts
UVXY (Weekly) Sep 29 2017 91 Calls
— Assigned —
SVXY (Weekly) Sep 29 2017 89 Calls (Covered)
SVXY (Weekly) Sep 29 2017 91.5 Calls (Covered)
$SVXY #CoveredCalls- At various times…
$SVXY #CoveredCalls- At various times during the day I rolled most of my calls
Bought to close SVXY SEP 29 2017 86.5 Calls/Sold SVXY OCT 13 2017 89.0 Calls @ 0.12 Credit
Bought to close SVXY SEP 29 2017 87.5 Calls/Sold SVXY OCT 13 2017 90.0 Calls @ 0.21 Credit
Bought to close SVXY SEP 29 2017 88.5 Calls/Sold SVXY OCT 13 2017 91.0 Calls @ 0.15 Credit
FYI: CNBC “The Fed: POTUS…
FYI: CNBC “The Fed: POTUS says he will make Fed chair decision in the next 2 to 3 weeks.” …a developing story.
No expiry for me, have good weekends, all.
#optionladder BTC XBI 10/20 78…
BTC XBI 10/20 78 put for 0.16. Sold for 0.94. No point in leaving the risk for $16 in theta over 21 days.
Sometime the market gods giveth, sometimes they taketh away. No point in tempting the market gods!
Apparently the SPX and SVXY only go up forever although the charts are starting to look like 2000 and 2008 so there may be a lot of irrational exuberance. So my SVXY 78 call (14 DTE) which I just rolled last week is still DITM and the time value was down to 0.12 so rolled to 28 DTE 78 for 1.15 credit. Brings cost basis down to 10.97 and 16.05 depending on lot.
Now profit is $5312 in 7 weeks on 4 contracts and I am not complaining but if I had not sold the short calls and just did the synthetic long with the protective put would be up 7k+.
I will try to roll it up if we ever get a pullback but right now so far ITM hard to roll it up for a credit unless I go way out in time.
Maybe better just to sell puts on this one and take assignment to go long or start a synthetic long on a volatility spike. Will keep the experiment going, there are still 68 weeks left for it to play out but the first 7 weeks are promising!
I am done paying for option services but Fishback just made their high accuracy options DVD available for $99. Usually sells for $2000. I doubt there is anything earth shattering in it, but they had 300% returns confirmed last year so for $99 I think it is worth taking a look. I will get it and if I discover anything new pass it along. Tripling an account in 1 year would certainly help anyone’s bottom line and I believe that included about 5 losses, not sure if it went full loss or they closed it early or were able to roll it and that is what I am interested in. I think they stick with SPY and QQQ.
If any
Closing BBY
Continuing to lighten up on mostly profitable positions.
Taking $BBY Oct positions off for most of the max profit.
Bought to close:
$BBY Oct 20 52.50 puts @ .23 (sold for 1.46 on 8/29)
$BBY Oct 20 50.00 puts @ .08 (sold for 1.00 on 8/29)
Closing TSN
Bought to close $TSN Jan 19 2018 47 puts @ .05. Sold for 1.15 on 5/10.
UAA
#CoveredCalls -What a dog…just gotta keep chipping away at it.
Sold UAA APR 20 2018 22.5 Calls @ .40
REGN
#ShortPuts – Nice bounce today. Instead of rolling my 470 put I’ll be taking stock at a basis of 447 covered with an Oct 460 call sold early a couple weeks ago. Wild swings in this thing! Earnings estimated to be Nov 3rd…
ISRG
https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/20/intuitive-surgical-stock-split-everything-you-need.aspx
SVXY
#CoveredCalls – Keeping a little stock for at least a couple more weeks…
Rolled SVXY SEP 29 2017 91.5 Calls to OCT 13 2017 93.0 Calls @ 1.73
AAPL
#LongCallDiagonals #SyntheticStock -Yesterday…been waiting for some sort of a pullback to get in this long term Whiz style. With the 2020 Leaps now available and the stock dropping a little I put on a starter position at one third size. Hoping to get some chances to add…possibly closer to the 200ma.
Bought to Open AAPL JAN 17 2020 155.0 strike #SyntheticStock (buy the calls and sell the puts)
Bought to Open AAPL JAN 17 2020 145.0 Put for disasters (I would take put profits and add to the long position)
Net debit of 19.20 for the Jan 2020 position.
Sold AAPL OCT 6 2017 155.0 Calls @ .95
With 120 weeks to run only need to sell .16 per week to cover the cost. Any more than that goes to the bottom line even if AAPL goes nowhere. Worse case scenario would be they discover iPhones cause cancer and the stock goes to zero. Max loss at that point would be 29.20. To offset that scenario a weekly sale of .24 will be needed.
Edited for clarity of synthetic stock…
VXX
#LongPutDiagonals – Yesterday…
Rolled VXX SEP 29 2017 43.5 Puts to OCT 20 2017 42.0 Puts @ .22 credit
$UVXY #ShortCalls – #ClassicVXXGame -…
$UVXY #ShortCalls – #ClassicVXXGame – Bought to close 1 UVXY Jan 18 2019 65.0 Call @ 7.50
Originally sold on 08/10/17 @ 20.00
I only have 1 more of these left, plus some strike 75’s as well.
WYNN
#ShortStrangles – Still rolling around collecting premium for eventually taking some stock. Rolled short calls up and out and selling aggressive weekly puts…
Bought to Close WYNN SEP 29 2017 145.0 Puts @ .01 (sold for 2.15)
Sold WYNN OCT 6 2017 152.5 Puts @ 4.65
Spending a little of the weekly premium to roll the ITM calls…
Rolled WYNN SEP 29 2017 127.0 Calls to NOV 17 2017 130.0 Calls @ 1.68 debit
TAP
#ShortPuts #IRA – Thanks @Iceman !
Sold TAP Jan 19 2018 77.5 Put @ 2.05
Sold TAP Jan 19 2018 75.0 Put @ 1.42
Sold TAP Apr 20 2018 75.0 Put @ 2.64
Sold TAP Apr 20 2018 70.0 Put @ 1.53
Volatility
According to the WSJ, this September is the least volatile for the S&P 500 since 1951 or about 66 years.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign. $SPX.
Yesterday,
Closed on GTC order: SPX Sep 29th 2475/2450 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.65 on Sep 21st.
Sold half of long position: STC Sep 29th 2515/2530 call spreads for 1.50. Bought for 2.00 last Friday.
Lottery ticket crash trade: Bought Oct 6th 2400/2375 put spreads for .20.
Today:
Closed Oct 6th 2485/2510 call spreads for 19.30. Sold last Friday for 16.50.
#ITMroll. Selling Oct 13th 2490/2515 call spreads, not filled yet.
Sold Oct 27th 2560/2585 call spreads for 1.50
New VIX low and all-time…
New VIX low and all-time SPX highs
October Surprise
#SyntheticShort – Just throwing this out there…
Whiz, FWIW, is really getting concerned about the market going into October. I understand he’s always trying to act like a big shot know it all guy but supposedly his connections he still has in the Navy from his Top Gun days are getting worried. He says…”something is coming” and it’s gonna be bad. Obviously he says he may be wrong but who knows.
He’s throwing around all sorts of hedge ideas but most have about 5k risk for limited protection (unless outright buying of puts). I threw this idea out there to him and waiting for a response. How’s this look for a hedge that will work all the way to zero for limited risk? It’s similar to just buying the puts but with little to nothing out of pocket up front.
How about synthetic short Nov SPX at 2500 (sell call and buy put). Then buy a protective call at 2550 in case we get a rip your face off rally. Net cost out of pocket of about a buck. This hedge should make money all the way to SPX zero with max loss capped at 2550 to the upside. What am I missing? Still risking the usual 5 grand but with unlimited protection to the downside. Sort of a reverse long call diagonal but on a much shorter time frame…
$TAP #ShortPuts #FallingKnife – A…
$TAP #ShortPuts #FallingKnife – A couple of small speculative trades in an IRA that is almost 100% in cash.
Sold 1 TAP Oct 13 2017 78.0 Put @ 0.35
Sold 1 TAP Oct 20 2017 78.0 Put @ 0.50.
The stock is above 81 and earnings are not until Nov 1.
$UVXY #ShortCalls – Bought to…
$UVXY #ShortCalls – Bought to close 1 UVXY Jan 19 2018 65.0 Call @ 2.23.
I still have a couple more to cover plus I’m short 82 and 91 calls as well.
Originally sold on 08/10/17 @ 11.20
$UVXY #ShortCalls – Bought to…
$UVXY #ShortCalls – Bought to close 1 UVXY Dec 15 2017 65.0 Call @ 1.49.
I still have more to cover but I see no need to rush.
Originally sold on 8/9/17 @ 7.00
$GWW #ShortCalls – Sold 1…
$GWW #ShortCalls – Sold 1 GWW Apr 20 2018 230.0 Call @ 1.95.
Paired with short puts sold on the last major dip.
$FOSL #CoveredCalls – Sold FOSL…
$FOSL #CoveredCalls – Sold FOSL Mar 16 2018 15.0 Calls @ 0.50 with the stock at 9.72
$TAP #ShortPuts #FallingKnife – I’m…
$TAP #ShortPuts #FallingKnife – I’m guessing beer sales are off with fewer fans watching the NFL. NOT!!
Sold TAP Nov 17 2017 77.5 Puts @ 1.30
Sold TAP Apr 20 2018 70.0 Puts @ 1.65
$ZGNX #ShortPuts – Sold ZGNX…
$ZGNX #ShortPuts – Sold ZGNX OCT 20 2017 2.0 Puts @ 0.40 on the opening this morning.
$AAOI #ShortPuts After some consideration…
$AAOI #ShortPuts After some consideration I decided to sell to open Oct 06th 60 Puts @ 1.20 when $AAOI was at 64.34. Short leash. Short time frames. Small position. No assignment.
$SPX #spxcampaign Bought to closed…
$SPX #spxcampaign Bought to closed my Oct 06th 2420/2400 BuPS @ 0.35. Originally sold for 0.90 as part of a class IC.
Reducing some NUGT exposure
Taking positions off for most of the profit to trim back size in this ticker.
Bought to close:
$NUGT Oct 20 50 calls @ .07. Sold for 1.30 on 8/28
$NUGT Nov 17 60 calls @ .15. Sold for 1.30, 1.45 and 1.75 from 8/31 – 9/5
$NUGT Nov 17 63 calls @ .12. Sold for 1.55 on 9/7
TSLA
#ShortStrangles – Another small adjustment…
Rolled TSLA OCT 20 2017 365.0 Call to OCT 20 2017 355.0 Call @ 2.32 credit
Currently sitting at Oct 20th 345/355 @ 11.37 credit
WDC
#ShortStrangles – Starter position just prior to earnings…
Sold WDC OCT 20 2017 80.0/92.5 Strangles @ 1.22
SJM
STO January 19, 2018 95 puts @1.10 with the stock at105.91
XBI rolled 15 DTE 79…
XBI rolled 15 DTE 79 put to 43 DTE 80 put for 0.81 credit to keep the ladder rolling 4 weeks at a time.
Now I have the day off, maria passed through, we have sun and wind and 2 other friends have the day off so going kiteboarding!
I rolled most of my trades yesterday so unless something really good comes along I am done trading for the week. Hope everyone has a good expiration tomorrow.
Cheers
Good morning
$ZGNX #ShortPuts – Sold ZGNX…
$ZGNX #ShortPuts – Sold ZGNX OCT 20 2017 2.0 Puts @ 0.25 with the stock above 13.
Rolls. Too busy to post at lunch.
WDC 9/29 86 calls rolled to 10/13 for 0.95 credit
WDC 10/6 84 calls rolled to 10/20 for 0.68 credit
WDC 10/6 85 calls rolled to 10/20 for 0.81 credit
WDC 10/6 84 calls rolled to 10/20 for 0.57 credit TS account, TOS seems to get much better fills
WDC 9/29 85 put rolled to 10/6 87 for 0.83 or so.
This was to stay in the positions to collect the 0.50 dividend on Friday so I was keeping the time value above 0.50 so no one would exercise early.
Cash machine last few weeks, dropped the cost basis another 1k+, collect the dividend then will let them get called out and start the put ladder again. Great premiums and stays in range. New range 81-90. Previous was 85-97.
$SPX #spxcampaign Closed the call…
$SPX #spxcampaign Closed the call side of my Oct 06th 2550/2570/2440/2420 IC. Closed this leg for 0.30 or a 50% profit when the SPX spiked this afternoon. I wanted to take the risk off. I will close the Put side next.
Sold to open Oct 27th 2585/2565/2320/2300 Iron Condor for 1.15 when SPX was at 2507.18. This is a class styled trade that I am studying. I put the order on this morning but wasn’t filled until the afternoon spike.
$TAP #ShortPuts #FallingKnife – Sold…
$TAP #ShortPuts #FallingKnife – Sold 1 TAP Apr 20 2018 70.0 Put @ 1.65
$RRC #CoveredCalls – Sold RRC…
$RRC #CoveredCalls – Sold RRC Nov 17 2017 23.0 Calls @ 0.50 with the stock at 20.33
SPX new highs
#VIXIndicator #SPXcampaign Well there’s the result of the Upside Warning after 2.5 days of uncertainty.
$AAOI exercising some caution
I was reading a discussion below about rich premiums in $AAOI and what that could mean in terms of someone gunning for the company or some other piece of news that the options market may be pricing in. While I believe in the company’s long term prospects (as of now at least), short term it would be unwise of me if I didn’t lighten up some more in this. So I took off two positions today:
Bought to close $AAOI Sep 29 65 puts @ 1.50. This was a rollout, sold 5.79 on 8/17. Overall profit of 1.12 per contract.
Bought to close $AAOI Oct 20 50 puts @ 1.15. Sold for 2.40 on 8/28.
I’m still short Oct 65 and 75 puts from previous rollouts–I may take the 65s off before the end of the day.
I’m also short Nov and Dec 30 puts which are at much safer levels.
TRTN
#ShortPuts Been in and out of this one for its div @ 5.5%
STO Oct 20 30 puts @ .65.
#shortputs NBR Closed Oct 8…
#shortputs NBR
Closed Oct 8 put originally sold in July, rolled to Sept and Oct, made $67
ZION
BTC October 20, 40 puts @.05,sold @ 2.00 and closed 3 weeks early.
$CLX #ShortPuts #FallingKnife – Sold…
$CLX #ShortPuts #FallingKnife – Sold 1 CLX APR 20 2018 110.0 Put @ 1.30
$VRX #ShortPuts – Bough to…
$VRX #ShortPuts – Bought to close VRX OCT 20 2017 7.5 Puts @ 0.01. They won’t trade any lower.
Originally sold at 1.05 on 04/05/2017 and again at 1.35 on 04/21/2017 as #FallingKnife trades.
#butterfly ZGNX bought a 3/8/8/13…
#butterfly ZGNX
bought a 3/8/8/13 put butterfly for .40 (TT trade) profitable between 3.37 and 12.63, risk 40 to make 463
$TAP #ShortPuts #FallingKnife – Sold…
$TAP #ShortPuts #FallingKnife – Sold 1 TAP Jan 19 2018 75.0 Put @ 1.60
Not letting this whippy market…
Not letting this whippy market ruin a road trip. This is where we stayed last night. Heading to Jackson WY today.
$SVXY #ShortCalls #Rollup – rolled…
$SVXY #ShortCalls #Rollup – rolled up this week’s farthest in the money call position.
Bought to close SVXY Sep 29 2017 85.5 Calls/Sold SVXY Oct 13 2017 88.0 Calls for a 0.25 Credit.
$SVXY #ShortCalls – Sold 1…
$SVXY #ShortCalls – Sold 1 SVXY Sep 29 2017 91.5 Call @ 1.10 with the stock at 91.17. This expires Friday
$EFX #ShortPuts – Bought to…
$EFX #ShortPuts – Bought to close EFX Oct 20 2017 65.0 Puts @ 0.05. It won’t trade any lower.
Sold these on 09/14/2017 at 1.20 and 1.35.
KMB
STO January 2019, 95 puts @2.80 with stock at 116.53
$GWW #ShortStrangle – an unbalanced…
$GWW #ShortStrangles – an unbalanced strangle, at least based on time to expiration.
Sold 1 GWW Oct 20 2017 160.0 Put/GWW Apr 20 2018 230.0 Call @ 3.00 Credit.
Also short other GWW Puts.
$AAOI Bought to close my…
$AAOI Bought to close my Sept 29th 55Puts for 0.05. Originally sold for 1.70. One member at SMM has been commenting that Schwab ahs been pressing to borrow his shares and keeps upping the offer. I don’t know how that works. Never been in that position but it gives me a pause. Why the premiums are so juicy and what is coming down the pike. Earnings are estimated to be beginning of Nov. I may sell an Oct 06th 60 or 55 Put. Any opinions out there?
CLX #FallingKnife Sold $CLX Apr…
CLX #FallingKnife
Sold $CLX Apr 20 2018 110 puts @ 1.20 with the stock at 128.56
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign.
My #ITMroll for the day: Closed $SPX Oct 4th 2470/2495 call spreads for 21.95. Sold for 20.05 last Thursday. #Rolling to Oct 11th 2475/2500… missed the highs so waiting.
Sold a couple NTM put spreads to offset my call spread positions:
Sold Oct 6th 2485/2460 put spreads for 2.80
Sold Oct 9th 2500/2475 put spreads for 5.40
Stopped: Oct 9th 2510/2535 call spreads for 7.70. Sold for 7.50 on Sep 18th. At least that was almost break-even… will add to the list of rolls I need!
TSLA
#Shortstrangles – Another busy week away from the market but still getting a couple trades in.
Started with 345/435 strangle and have been rolling the 435 down. Rolled to 380 earlier and today rolled down to 365 for additional credit.
Currently sitting at Oct 20th 345/365 @ 9.05…
This is still in the week before earnings. Saving earnings week in case a roll into high IV is needed.
SPX woes
#SPXcampaign. Monday seems to have existed just to confuse everyone. Now Nasdaq is up after its stocks were in free fall. The VIX popped to multi-week highs, then settled quickly. My indicator shows an Upside Warning, but it seems we’re stuck in a range. A very tough market to call.
The standard SPXcampaign sells spreads with short strikes at around .10-.15 delta. Lately I have been carrying too many high-delta NTM, ATM, and ITM spreads, making me vulnerable to whipsaw. My mistake was not closing those aggressive positions in late August when my ITM call spreads all paid off and I reached account highs. What’s transpired since then would have been easy to manage if I was holding only the .10-.15 delta spreads. Instead, the market is Moe and I am Curly.
$ZGNX #ShortStrangles – Sold ZGNX…
$ZGNX #ShortStrangles – Sold ZGNX OCT 20 2017 3.0 Puts/31.0 Calls @ 1.75 Credit with the stock at 13.70.
Adding to my position.
$EFX #ShortPuts – Bought to…
$EFX #ShortPuts – Bought to close 1 EFX Oct 20 2017 70.0 Put @ 0.05. It won’t trade any lower.
Originally sold on 09/14/2017 at 1.20.
Out much sooner than I expected.
Closed REGN
#ShortStrangles Taking profits early only to release margin. I’m getting stretched to the upside on SPX.
BTC $REGN Oct 6th 412.5/447.5 strangles for 4.85. Started as Sept 29th 430/530, and then rolled, with 8.00 total credit, so profit in end is 3.15.
Good morning from Rigby, Idaho
No internet yesterday so I just updated the site now. Click “Home/REFRESH” above.
It was a nice day to be on a 12-hour drive, compared to Monday. No trades. I will be round for an hour or two at the open, then checking in later.
good morning
$CELG #ShortPuts – Bought to…
$CELG #ShortPuts – Bought to close 1 CELG OCT 20 2017 95.0 Put @ 0.01. It won’t trade any lower.
$ZGNX #ShortStrangles – Sold ZGNX…
$ZGNX #ShortStrangles – Sold ZGNX OCT 20 2017 3.0 Puts/31.0 Calls @ 1.65 Credit with the stock at 13.35.
It’s been a long time since I played one of these small biotech binary events.
#T and TLT sto T…
#T and TLT
sto T , Oct 6, 38.50@.50 put ,if assigned get divi then cc…if not,no problem
sto TLT sept 29 126.50 and 126 put @.52 , if assigned then cc…if not,no problem
$SVXY #ShortPuts Finished off the…
$SVXY #ShortPuts Finished off the chain in my Roth. Sold to open Oct 27th 65 Puts @ 1.15 with $SVXY at 89.97. Not a great entry. I blame it on chores.
Another DRIP dripped away
Bought to close $DRIP Nov 17 40 calls @ .05. Sold for 2.00 on 8/29.
I only have 2 positions left in this. Dec 35 and 40 calls. It’s been a great run for a few months but if the bear market in oil is really over then we may be done with this one for a while.
ZGNX
This was traded at TT, looked it up, a 1 drug(childhood epilepsy) bio with huge premium. A $13 stock price, an Oct. straddle goes for about 12. The company reports phase 3 results any day now. The TT trade is a 4/9/26/31 IC for 3.90.
Another opportunity for FANG…
Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) announces the launch of the NYSE Fang+TM Index (NYFANG) with futures contracts available November 8.
http://tinyurl.com/ya9at8fu
$GWW #ShortCalls – Sold 1…
$GWW #ShortCalls – Sold 1 GWW Jan 19 2018 210.0 Call @ 1.40 with the stock at 179.39.
Paired with a number of short GWW puts which are now nicely profitable.
$LB – no longer a…
$LB – no longer a #FallingKnife – back above the 50dayMA
Options Bistro 